What’s In Your Nest Egg?
One day I heard the term ‘nest egg’ and although I knew it was an expression referring to savings, it made me wonder where that term originated. When I looked it up, I read that it’s been around since the late 17th century and it derives from poultry farmers placing both real and plastic eggs in the hens’ nests to encourage them to lay more eggs…more eggs meant more income. Was that a risky move? I don’t know, could the chickens have been spooked by that and not laid ANY eggs? What I do know is that when your livelihood is at stake, you’ll do whatever it takes to protect your investment and make sure it continues to thrive.
In Luke 5, we read about another type of investment, a tenacity of four friends to see their paralyzed brother healed. They had carried him a long distance on a mat, to bring their friend to Jesus, only to find when they arrived at the house where he was teaching there was such a large crowd, they couldn’t get in. So, what did they do? They carried him to the roof, where they cut a hole and lowered their friend down right in front of Jesus. You see, they’d come so far, there was no turning back without accomplishing their goal. They weren’t about to let this hurdle stop them from seeing their friend healed.
Typically, when we hear the word ‘investment,’ we think of money. We sometimes put our money in the stock market, or maybe we hire a CPA to handle our finances, all in an effort to grow our money and protect our investment. When it comes to our banking, hopefully we make more deposits than withdrawals so that our money is there for us when we need it. Just like we saw in Luke, the word ‘investment’ can also refer to our relationships. Those friends poured all they had into that paralyzed man out of love and kindness. On that day, they made a huge deposit into his life, giving him back his life and the ability to walk again. If they’d never taken him to that house, or gave up when they saw the crowd, they would have withdrawn from him his last hope.
So, what’s in your nest egg? Are you making more deposits than withdrawals in your relationships? Do you edify others, or do you tear them down? Do you pray for your enemies or do you curse them? Do you forgive those who’ve hurt you or do you plot revenge? Are you protecting your investment, no matter the risk? It really comes down to a simple sowing and reaping lesson…you get out what you put in.